Cherry Cookies

Last night, at 8PM, Elizabeth and I decided to bake cookies. I'm not entirely sure how this came about, but we decided on a recipe that I copied from my mom that I haven't eaten for at least ten years. I remember the cherry cookies being pretty close to heaven; soft and sweet, with creamy icing. Despite my childhood memories, I had no real idea what they actually were like, nore do I bake often, if ever.

Elizabeth's baking passion is the same as the passion I have for cooking. We're both proud foodies. We were watching the Food Network channel a few nights ago, and a commercial for a pre-cooked frozen meal came up, asking sarcastically, "Who wants to come home to chopping and peeling?" We both raised our hands, realized what the other had done, and laughed.

After we came back from Meijer with our specialty ingredients, we spent the next two hours preparing the dough and icing, and thinking about ideas for the pictures I would take (as it was my first time taking pictures of cookies), along with a few phone calls to confirm things with my mom.


Cherry Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
3 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix sugar and shortening by cutting with knives continuously.
Add the sugar mixture to a stand mixer, and set on a low setting.
Add butter and eggs.
Stir in sour cream.
Sift dry ingredients and mix well.
Stir in cherries and vanilla.
Spoon on ungreased sheets 2 inches apart.
Cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
Frost when cool.


Frosting:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cherry juice
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter
2 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix.

The first thing we had to ask my mom about was cutting the shortening and sugar together. We were told to cut in a criss-cross motion, with the end result resembling snow. When finished baking, the cookies are pink at the top, and slightly brown at the bottom. The icing can be made with individual preference in mind, with regards to both thickness and flavor. You can change how thick it is by adding more powdered sugar to make it thick and goopy or more runny by adding less. The flavor can be adjusted by adding more cherry juice.

I'm definitely not going to wait another 10 years to do this again.